Israel’s attorney general has formally charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption scandals.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit issued an indictment today charging Netanyahu with fraud, breach of trust and bribery. He was scheduled to address reporters later.
Netanyahu, whose supporters call him ‘Mr Security’ and ‘King Bibi’, has denied any wrongdoing in the three corruption cases, saying he is a victim of a political witch-hunt.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit disclosed his decision at a news conference at 7.30pm local time, a Justice Ministry statement said.
It is the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime.
Mandelblit ‘decided to file charges against the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for offences of receiving a bribe, fraud, and breach of trust’, a ministry statement added.
Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured yesterday at the Israeli Knesset, is due to find out later this evening if he will be indicted over long-running corruption charges by Israel’s attorney general
Benjamin Netanyahu’s main political rival says the indicted prime minister has ‘no public or moral mandate to make fateful decisions for the state of Israel.’
Former army chief Benny Gantz said in a statement Thursday the indictment raises concerns that Netanyahu ‘will make decisions in his own personal interest and for his political survival and not in the national interest.’
Netanyahu and Gantz were virtually tied after September’s elections and each failed to assemble a majority coalition in parliament. The country now appears headed into an unprecedented third round of elections in less than a year, in part because of Netanyahu’s legal woes.
Israeli Blue and White leader, ex-General Benny Gantz, is pictured yesterday arriving to tell the announce he is unable to form a coalition government, pushing Israel into an unprecedented third round of elections. Gantz said in a statement after the indictment announcement that Netanyahu has ‘no public or moral mandate to make fateful decisions for the state of Israel’
Police recommended in February that he file criminal charges against Netanyahu in the long-running investigations.
Netanyahu is suspected of wrongfully accepting $264,000 (£204,000) worth of gifts, which prosecutors said included cigars and champagne, from tycoons and of dispensing favours in alleged bids for improved coverage by an Israeli newspaper and a website.
He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of bribery and a maximum 3-year term for fraud and breach of trust.
The indictment does not require Netanyahu to resign but is expected to raise pressure on him to step down.
The most serious charges were connected to so-called ‘Case 4000,’ in which Netanyahu is accused of passing regulations that gave his friend, telecom magnate Shaul Elovitch, benefits worth over $250 million to his company Bezeq.
In return, Bezeq’s news site, Walla, published favourable articles about Netanyahu and his family.
Israeli attorney general Avichai Mandelblit is due to announce whether or not Netanyahu will face indictment over corruption charges (File photo)
The relationship, it said, was ‘based on a mutual understanding that each of them had significant interests that the other side had the ability to advance’.
It also accused Netanyahu of concealing the relationship by providing ‘partial and misleading information’ about his connections with Elovitch.
Two close aides to Netanyahu turned state’s witness and testified against him in the case.
The indictment also said that Netanyahu’s gifts of champagne and cigars from billionaires Arnon Milchan and James Packer ‘turned into a sort of supply line.’ It estimated the value of the gifts at nearly $200,000.
The indictment said Netanyahu assisted the Israeli Milchan, a Hollywood mogul, in extending his US visa. It was not immediately clear what, if anything, Packer received in return.
The indictment against Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, raises more uncertainty over who will ultimately lead a country mired in political chaos after two inconclusive elections this year.
Netanyahu has failed to build a unity government with his primary opponents, the centrist Blue and White party, who refuse to partner with him because of the serious crimes he has been accused of.
Netanyahu,pictured earlier this month, has denied any wrongdoing in the three corruption cases, saying he is a victim of a political witch-hunt
With no agreement over a unity government likely in the near-future, it looks almost certain that Israel will have to hold another general election, a campaign Netanyahu may now have to fight alongside an indictment on corruption charges.
For the first time in Israeli history, the country’s ceremonial president announced that no candidate has been able to form a government.
President Reuven Rivlin informed parliament earlier today that neither Prime Minister Netanyahu nor his chief challenger, retired military chief Benny Gantz, have completed the task of building a coalition in the time allotted to them.
The formal expiration of the presidential mandate kicks off the final 21-day window before new elections must be called.
Netanyahu, Gantz or any other sitting lawmaker can hypothetically present the backing of a majority of parliament’s 120 members in the coming weeks.
But given the prolonged stalemate and unsuccessful mediation efforts it increasingly appears the country is headed toward an unprecedented third election in less than a year.